The WARS is equipped with two WiFi adapters and two bluetooth adapters for all the wardriving and bluejacking anyone could ever want. [Corrosion] also included a 4 channel, 2.4GHz video scanner for warviewing. Everything runs off of a 12 inch netbook that will eventually run linux, and we’re really liking the 1970s suitcase aesthetic the WARS has – it looks like [Corrosion] is about to step into the set of a Beastie Boys video.

We were wondering about including a long range RFID sniffing antenna (PDF warning) behind the monitor of the suitcase’s monitor and asked [Corrosion] about it. He said it sounded doable, but is out of funds at the moment, so if you know how to build a cheap RFID antenna with a 50 foot range, drop [Corrosion] a line.

There’s a video demo with some stills of the build included after the break.

@barry99705 the Janus project looks pretty sweet… we chose the case we did because its what we had…. but we also had more than just pc hardware inside… the second bt dongle is actually a sniffer we have rp-sma jacks on every thing for better antennas a usb port for our gps I didnt want to internalize… an old xbox screen is used for warviewing with a custom scanner interface..

while i will admit that this was slightly large bulky and pointless i must confess it fits well with the motif of this site these people got together with a project in mind and they made it happen so all of those above me who just said LAME and such why don’t you take a second to realize yeah a lot of things can be done better but at least they did something.

WTF?
So many trolls aroud here.
All of you who think this is a lame project, at least try to explain why, and show some of your super-duper work/projects.
I think it’s just lame because it lacks the RFID and the guy’s using Windows instead of BackTrack, but ok, it’s HIS project.
Most of you trolls just come here to look for new projects, so that you can do at school and name as theirs.
So just stop complaining about others work, and DO something usefull, and post it here so that we can take a peek and tell if it’s lame or not.
bah… sick enough of trolls.

Depending on what the antennas are doing at the time the spacing isn’t really an issue. My box has 8 of them about an inch apart, but they’re usually all in monitor mode on separate channels. If I were to rebuild my box, it would be using usb dongles instead of mini-pci cards, would be much cheaper to go that route, and I could space them a little better.

While I applaud the effort, it would be beneficial to take the time to construct the “kit” with a little more polish and effort rather than just slapped into a suitcase. Watch some ben heck and see how he does precise measurements, measure twice, cut once, use paper templates, layout everything first before construction, etc. Also wouldn’t hurt to “finish” the out side of the suitcase with some paint and protection.

On another side note, audio is a key thing for videos, I’d recommend toning down the “muzac” and getting further away from the mic so you’re not overblowing the input, use a application such as audicy to watch your meter levels. While I won’t speak on the choice of beats, the voice over is what killed it for me, the constant blowing on yer mic was irritating.

1) It’s intended to run linux, its running windows as the damn box was already sealed… allot of work opening it up and re-installing the linux distro (it will get done)

2) Yes its very big but it does more than simply slapping a few cards into a pc

3) Yes there is a better way to do it… we did it this way – get over it

4) @Chris fuck you

5) It has a bluetooth card, bluetooth sniffer, wifi card with injection, another wifi card, a 1 watt wifi amplifier, a 16:9 screen aside from the laptop, a video scanner, and all of those devices have rp-sma mods…. it was alot of fucking work… if you don’t like it fine…

6) Thanks to the very few people who didn’t spew all over this and again chris… fuck you.

I like it !!! Why, because I also at one point wanted to build a suitcase computer for war driving. Although know i just like to crack WPA’s the more difficult the password the more fun for me once its cracked i move on and try to find a new handshake.

First off, the workmanship is dodgy. I understand that not everybody has a workshop full of tools and decades of training and experience, but it doesn’t take much to use a ruler, set square and a pencil. Those speaker grills, for example, could be much improved by the holes being aligned.

Secondly, I would’ve probably used a smaller keyboard for space and provided external ports or easy access to the internals for ease of upgrading. You say that the OS is kind of stuck now because you’ve fixed the whole thing together, it would’ve probably been wise to throw a couple of external USB ports or an HDD flap on the thing so you could mess with it.

Third, personal taste this one, but I would’ve probably connected the video scanner to the laptop via a USB capture device. It would’ve saved money, space and power, would’ve probably looked a little neater and makes the whole thing a bit more integrated. Perhaps with a USB microcontroller board for switching channels in software while viewing the video input.

Fourth, what are the plastic bowls for? They look a little out of place, and I’m not entirely sure what their purpose is. They seem to be contributing, along with the extra screen, to the larger size of the build and don’t seem entirely necessary.

Fifth and finally, I do question the use of this machine. I’ve never been keen on irresponsible use of tools and equipment intended for security testing and this, I’m afraid, sets alarm bells ringing for me.

So ultimately, I appreciate the concept but I’m a little concerned about the intended purpose and I think the workmanship could’ve been considerably better. Still, if nothing else I suppose it’s probably been something of a learning experience and it’s nice to see people being productive rather than destructive. Until the thing is switched on, anyway.

Yes the audio was horrible making it nearly impossible to hear the details about the build given. Perhaps the 1 hr long video referred to is private is a good thing? I don’t know, but I’m willing to give it a look,if it provide more details on the build, and how its used. The fit, and finish IS rough, but hey I’m not the one to be looking at it on a regular basis. Personally I’d have built a tray to fit on the bottom of the netbook to house the extra components, as plan to fit my netbook into a portable APRS station. SOMEDAY :)

I do wish those who mention the maximum 1500 W power limit afforded to amateur radio operators are permitted to use, tell the entire story. True we are able to use 1500W, but are REQUIRED to use the MINIMUM power level that can maintain communications. BTW; while we are required to ID every 10 minutes or at the end of a series of transmissions, there is no requirement that it be in Morse Code, unless operating in a CW only band. Otherwise an ID using the emission that’s being to communicate used is acceptable In the end I’m not sure what amateur radio has to do with a long range RFID reader project, even if the RFID devices are operating in shared spectrum

I thought about doing this with AOA110’s as they have onboard wireless and (even better) can be underclocked (!) with a single resistor moved to another nearby pad to run without the fan.

Little trick that might help someone, if you can’t easily source an SSD to fit these you can substitute one of those cheap £1 shop microSD adaptors with a 512MB microSD in there for booting.
Glue to the motherboard and use modwire to wire it to the pads near the unused microPCI port and voila.

Look, not everyone is going to have the chops in all the different disciplines involved with creating something like this and then creating a video about it.

Maybe some of the cuts are a little rough, but one can always make a more refined panel in the future!
Here’s a tip: Get some “trim lock” and put THAT around the outside of those panels. It will create the straight lines and fill the voids all those knuckleheads are blathering about needlessly.

Hacks a GREAT that way! They can be created and then refined, or not, or WHATEVER. It’s about what the creator wants.

There is a fair amount of tech being brought together here.
If the thing works as advertised, then good on ‘em I say!

Enjoy your creation and stay away from my neighborhood. Remember: I gave you props. ;)

I didn’t really like the video’s audio either, though it doesn’t seem to be too much of a problem as the linked thread gives a fair amount of information. It in fact includes a work in progress video that I found much more enjoyable, so be sure ot check it out if you want to see a description that lacks the music and voice effects. The links to the image galleries seem to be broken, though.

We did what we could with what we had. To the guy who asked about the plastic bowls, that is where we store the antennae and gps unit when we close the case. We put a lot of time in this project and I would appreciate it if people weren’t so condescending about it.

Just wanted to say kudos for actually getting up and *doing* something. Although I really like reading HAD and do some projects from time to time, I wouldn’t get myself together enough to start something like this. I think there’s a lot more people around here in the same situation, and I find it a little sad there’s so much trolling here. Come on… If you can’t find anything useful to say just move on, lot’s of other articles around here…